Genealogy, local history and historical research in New England and other interesting places. Nutfield was the former land grant ................................. that is now the towns of Londonderry, Derry and Windham, New Hampshire.

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Monday, August 5, 2013

The Fitzgerald Family Bible

This family bible was on display at the JFK Museum in Boston, Massachusetts. It is right next to a small theater showing a film of his inauguration and speech. You can see this bible under his hand when he was being sworn in as US President. I wonder if his forebears ever thought this simple family bible would be used to swear-in a president!

The Fitzgerald Family Bible

This Bible, an 1850 edition of the Douay English translation, was brought to the United States from Ireland by President Kennedy's forebears. The front pages contain a handwritten family chronicle dating from 1857. These notes document the engagement of Rose E. Fitzgerald and Joseph P. Kennedy, their marriage in 1914, and a list of the births of their nine children, including a record of the birth of John Fitzgerald Kennedy on May 29, 1917.

In the second week of January 1961, JFK sent two secret agents to the Dorchester home of his uncle, Tom A. Fitzgerald, who had held and preserved the Bible for many years, and had it ready to go in a shopping bag from a local supermarket. The agents brought the Bible to Washington, DC, where, on January 20, 1961, President Kennedy used it to take the oath of office as the 35th President of the United States.

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About Me

Author of the Nutfield Genealogy blog and occasional genealogy speaker. My family research includes Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine, with a smattering of Nova Scotia. Please contact me if you see your ancestors on this blog. I would love to share information. I am the former secretary of the New Hampshire Mayflower Society, former President of the Londonderry Historical Society, member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, the Mass. Society of Genealogists, The National Genealogical Society, and the New Hampshire Society of Genealogists.